Boutique winery, big nose

The south of France is the world's largest wine-producing region, with some 700,000 acres under grape vines, producing an estimated 1.8 billion litres of wine annually. Most of this is produced in the flat coastal plain where the Rhine (and other smaller rivers from the mountains to the north) drain into the Mediterranean. The key cities here are all ports with wonderfully evocative names: Montpellier, Marseilles, Toulon, and Nice, each with a hinterland of miles upon miles of vineyards. The area produces some of the best-value and under-rated wines.

I was fortunate enough to recently visit a real gem in this area: Chateau Moyau, a 100-acre boutique winery on the coast, near the town of Narbonne, in the Coteaux de Languedoc appellation. The specific area is know as La Clape (‘The Pile of Stones’), and indeed this 15,000 hectare promontory, which was an island during Roman times, is just that — which makes for some very diverse and interesting wines.

The property was a wreck when the present owner Bernhard Koehler took it over in 2004 and brought in winemaker Stephanie Chanot from the Baron Philippe Rothschild’s winery in Chile. What has been achieved in the interim is stunning: a succession of opulent and increasingly complex reds, made from 40-60 year-old Syrah, Grenache and Carignan grapes that are every bit as good as the wines from the better-known Rhone Valley

“It’s been quite an adventure,” said Stephanie, who stays alone at the isolated property, with only her dog Chile (“He reminds me of the good times I had there.”) for company, “which is why our first vintage (2005) was called L’Aventure”. The 2007 vintage (86 points, ¤6) had red cherry and spice aromas with hints of chocolate, smooth tannins and a good finish.

The Sauvage 2005 (88 points, ¤9.50) was more complex, with an intense nose of berries, cinnamon and tobacco and a peppery finish.

However, the piece de resistance was undoubtedly the Chateau Moyau Coteaux de Languedoc La Clape Enfin 2005 (94 points, ¤ 28.0) - their top offering, made from 60-65 year-old vines. Very dark, very complex: layers of fruit, cherries, and spice aromas, with well-integrated oak and tannins, and a rich, smooth, persistent finish. Just beautiful!

Tastings from the tanks and barrels confirmed my view of constantly improving quality — the 2007 and 2008 vintages were impressive despite being callow youngsters, and showed the promise of maturing into stunning beauties in a relatively short time.

The winery made all of 60,000 bottles last year, and seems all set to get wider recognition. What is interesting is that there are all of four full-time employees here - with the dog Chile doubling-up as guard.

What with the worldwide economic downturn, wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France are sure to find a wider audience as they combine quality with reasonable prices and as such are an effective foil for wines from the New World. One looks forward to wines from Chateau Moyau (and others of its ilk) becoming available in India, too. Sante!

(al.chandra@gmail.com)